Shaak Ti's Journals Order 66
by Lone Wolf8
Summary: The Order has been given. The elite 501st legion of clone troopers has been dispatched, led by the new Sith apprentice Darth Vader, to crush the Jedi Order in a single night of slaughter within the hollowed halls of the Jedi Temple.
1. Order 66 Part I

**Author's Notes:  
**Greetings! I am Garrett, AKA Lone Wolf8; if you're reading this, you're probably one of my readers from the Diaries of Shaak Ti, if you're not one of my readers and you enjoy this story then you may want to go and read those!

On to the point, many people by now have seen Episode III on DVD and the deleted scene entitled "The Cruel Fate of Shaak Ti"; this is NOT her canon death. In fact, it is a what if scenario; the same is true of the Episode III novel's version of her death which Lucas himself considered putting in the movie but decided to avoid ― for good reason, he asked this question of himself when thinking about the scene.

Why?  
WHY would a Jedi Master, who senses the world around her not just through the force but through her species innate abilities, still be deep in meditation while hundreds of Clone Troopers storm and slaughter dozens of her fellow brothers and sisters of the Order?  
Why would she not sense Anakin Skywalker coming up behind her to behead her?  
The only way he could REALLY come up and do that was if he told the Clones to just sit outside and wait while he went all the way up to her chambers to kill her before coming down to get them and lead them inside; it just didn't make sense.  
This all was described in a recent issue of StarWars Insider. Thus the result? According to character databanks Shaak Ti is to have "presumed to have died in the raid on the Jedi Temple during Order 66"  
No one can say for certain what truly happened to her, and I'm sure most Shaak Ti fans like myself find it difficult to believe she'd go down very easy.  
With that all said and done; this is my take on Shaak Ti's actions during Order 66, and her escape from the fighting 501st and Lord Vader.

- - - - -

**StarWars  
Escape from the Temple  
**  
It is a terrible time for the Jedi Order, **General Grievous** is dead and the Clone Wars have come to a close; with it is the rise of the great and terrible Galactic Empire. The devious **Supreme Chancellor Palpatine** has claimed the title as Emperor of the galaxy and has declared every single Jedi an enemy of the Republic. His new apprentice, **Anakin Skywalker**, now known as **Darth Vader** has been dispatched with the hardened clone troopers of the fighting 501st, soon to be known through out the galaxy as **Vader's **Fist, to bring order to the new Empire and crush the Jedi in a single strike against the ancient and revered Jedi Temple on Coruscant

- - - 

When the Order was put through, the Clones obeyed. The Jedi had been their leaders, their protectors, their Generals and they felt guilt, but they were programmed to follow all commands from the highest authority of the Grand Army of the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The Advanced Recon Commando's, first activated during the CIS strike against the cloning facilities on Kamino like to consider themselves to be a bit more than simple clones. Unlike the generic troopers, and even the clone commando's the ARC troopers were given completely free will, with none of the 'follow command' programming the other clones were given. Their loyalty was bred into them, not by genetic manipulation, but through training by one man, a man of loose ethics but strong moral code and honor. Jango Fett.

Fett however, was not the one who freed them from their holding status in the Kamino clone tanks. When the War began, they were still in holding after their training, not to be released without the specific consent of the Jedi Generals.

When Jedi General Shaak Ti began to organize the defense of Kamino from a Seperatist invasion, President Lama Su brought before her the request for activation of the ARC troopers. By default, this placed her as the highest ranking officer to have control them, the one who gave them their lives and freed them from holding status. When the three ARC Trooper's brought into the 501st learned of their orders to kill all Jedi, they didn't just have a little nagging voice telling them the order was wrong, they had the commanding and authoritative voice of Jango Fett telling them to act on instinct, to always follow command, but to most importantly, always keep loyalty and honor above all other actions. They followed Lord Vader and the rest of their brother's into the temple, and the moment they had a clear shot they bolted away from their battalion, charging into the shadow confines of a darkened hall.

"We have to get to the General!" Tholme graveled through his private comm line within his helmet. 

"Patience." Veta countered, holding a hand up to silence his two comrades, of the three he had always been the leader, neither Tholme nor Zasz had ever questioned that, he was trained in the leadership capabilities that they were not. Clad in perfectly kept and shined ARC armor trimmed in emerald green with a dark green war kama around the backs of his thighs Veta had always been a sight to behold. "First things first, we have to warn everyone we can while we move, we can't let them be caught by surprise if we can help it, but we can't blow our own cover either."

"If they get to her first they'll ki-"

"I KNOW!" Veta snapped silencing Zasz. "General Ti would be even more disappointed in us if we put her life before that of other Jedi. Our loyalty lies to the Jedi and the Republic, not to Palpatine or this new Empire of his. Our primary objective is to get to General Ti and get her and anyone with her out of here as fast as possible, we'll warn every Jedi we come across enroot but if we actively go around tipping them off we'll blow our cover, and we don't have time for a door to door alarm." 

Veta now lifted the chain gun that hung from his shoulder by a leather strap, steadying it in his hands. "They may be brothers through blood, but tonight, any trooper is our enemy… If they oppose us, they go down, no hesitation, no mercy." 

Tholme in his own Sapphire trimmed armor and Zasz in his ruby red, nodded in understanding. Tholme checked the power pack on his DC-17 Commando rifle and then stood at the ready, Zasz checked the charge in his spread shot blaster carbine and nodded to Veta. 

"All right boys, lets do it." Veta growled, plunging away down the darkened halls of the temple.

- - -  
**Meanwhile, in the halls of the Jedi Archives  
**- - -

"Master Skywalker, is there something the matter?" Jocasta Nu, director of the Archives asked, stepping down the hall as Anakin Skywalker entered, followed by six armed Clone Troopers in the blue and white guardian armor of Coruscant's elite legion.

"I need access to the Archive's master database." Anakin answered, not so much a reply, as an order.

Jocasta was elderly, in beautiful flowing robes, she had long sense retired from active duty, but she was no less weak for doing so. Her hand slid casually to the hilt of her saber as she returned his demanding gaze with a look of stern defiance so often used upon the young and hotheaded Jedi of this modern age of the Order. "I'm afraid no one can access those files without the direct permission of the senior members of the Jedi Council,' she stated, her eyes for the briefest moment passing over his shoulder to look at the troopers, 'I'll have to ask you to leave now, Master Skywalker."

Wit ha roar of anger Lord Vader's saber blazed to life, but even as he moved to strike the old woman down her own saber clashed against his and knocked him back. 80 years of training and power flared to life in her eyes as their sabers crackled together.

"If you will not give me access then I will go in myself!" Vader snarled, pressing his strength advantage.

In unison over a dozen more saber blades hissed to life, but even as the padawans and knights in the hall started running towards Jocasta's aid the blast of DC-17 assault rifles filled the air, blue bolts of plasma energy racing out. These were no mere clone troopers, these were the fighting men of the 501st, and they did their job well. Two jedi were down before they could even react, stunned at the sight of the clones who'd served so loyally turning on them.

Shocked by the sudden feeling of pain she felt by the loss of the first two padawans, Jocasta's elderly body just wasn't quick enough to defend as Vader suddenly stepped back and then lunged forward, embedding his saber in the old master's torso. Jocasta's shocked look was the first of many that would be forever embedded in the darkest of Darth Vader's memories.

- - -  
**Eastern Residential Corridor  
**- - -

The halls of the sleeping quarters in the East wing of the temple were dark and deserted, it was late, and most Jedi were scattered across the galaxy, or worse, dead from battles in the Clone Wars. Three pairs of feet thudded against the marble floor in unison, left, right, left, right, left right.

"CLONE!" Zasz shouted suddenly.

Veta and Tholme both dove to opposite sides of the hall as Zasz fired two charges from his spread blaster, dropping all three clone troopers who'd just emerged from a jedi's quarters all at once.

As soon as all three troopers had hit the floor the trio of ARCs sprinted off again, heading for the Jedi Fountain chamber at the center of the main floor of the temple, from their they could reach the stairs that led to the main tower of the temple where all the council members private quarter's were. 

Many people of the Republic believed the clones were soulless, little more than sentient droids; but soulless or not, Veta was preying. He preyed they reached General Ti in time, and he preyed that the other ARCs; scattered as they were across the galaxy would remember their oath of honor and loyalty, and not turn upon the General's they'd served for over three years now. 

The three ARCs paused at the corner of corridor that would turn into one of the main halls leading to the Jedi Fountain chamber. As Tholme checked around the corner Veta checked his watch.

"Clear." Tholme graveled in a hushed tone, whipping around the corner with his rifle raised lest they run into opposition.

"ETA of five minutes before the primary battalion breaches the fountain chamber, we don't want to be there when the Jedi arrive to defend the temple; we have to get across fast." Veta said in mid run as they hurried down the hall. Soon their audio receptors in their helmets allowed them to hear the tranquil fall of the fountain waters. A pang of sadness hit Veta as he thought of how soon that tranquility would be shattered by the thunderous roar of blaster rifles.

- - -  
**The Jedi Fountain Chambers  
**- - -

L'lara Wu'loon was the only jedi in the chamber at the moment. A padawan of 18, she had been in the Temple for some time now, her master had died on Ryloth and with how chaotic the wars had been the council deemed it better if she simply remained in the temple till such time as it was safe to reassign her. She knew just the Master she wanted, but doubted she'd ever get that wish granted. When she was only 5 years old and in Master Yoda's bear clan Shaak Ti has acted as his replacement for a day; the Togruta had inspired L'lara greatly in that single day of tutelage, and L'lara preyed to the force that maybe, just maybe, Shaak Ti would see fit to take her as an apprentice. But Master Ti had not taken a padawan since her second apprentice's death at the hands of an assassin and L'lara knew her chances of being Master Ti's third were nigh inconceivable. 

It was this very thought that was plaguing her as her meditation upon one of the sitting stones in the waters of the primary fountain was shattered by the sound of running feet. She opened her eyes and gasped to see three clone troopers charging down the hall. The shoulder pauldrons, the kamas, the advanced weaponry, these were ARC troopers, the men Shaak Ti herself had taken command of at the defense of Kamino, but what were they doing in the temple?

"Trooper!" L'lara called, leaping up from her meditation stone and over the water to land on solid ground. "What's going on here?"

"There's been a rebellion ma'am." The emerald trimmed ARC responded in an urgent and hurried tone.

"Rebellion, what! Wait and minute, who's rebelling?"

"Other clones ma'am! There's no time to explain, Chancellor Palpatine has turned on the jedi, he's dispatched the 501st to lay siege to the temple, we have to get out of here.

"What! No wait! This is to fast I need more informa-" L'lara squeaked as the red trimmed ARC suddenly lifted her right off the ground and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Forgive me master jedi, but as Commander Veta said, there's no time!" The red clad trooper graveled.

As he spoke the green ARC turned his head, Veta; as L'lara now had discovered his call sign was, had heard something. On the other side of the door was the menacing tramp of marching feet.

"They're coming! MOVE IT!" He ordered, pointing to the stairs down a shorter hall the led from the back of the massive fountain chamber.

L'lara felt like they were moving fast than she ever had with force speed, still thrown over the red trooper's shoulder as he and the blue one both charged towards that hall leading to the main tower stair well and Veta pulled a Det-Pack from the cargo pack hanging around his chest; the ARC Commander threw the detonator against the sealed main door that led into the chamber and then bolted after his comrades and L'lara. 

The young twi'lek was still trying to grasp the concept of any clones turning traitor, and why these ones had not, as the red trooper carried her up the stairs. Below them she could see Veta stop at the stairs and look back, holding the trigger button for the Det-pack. A flash of orange the roar of an explosion followed as he hit the trigger and then hurried up the stairs after them.

- - -  
**The Central Tower, Jedi Master Shaak Ti's quarters.  
**- - -

If Darth Vader had hoped to catch Master Ti unprepared, he would be in for a great surprise. The Jedi Master had been in meditation when Anakin and the Trooper's began their assault. The moment Jocasta Nu's essence fled her body the horrible occurrence in the Library filled Shaak Ti's mind, in vivid detail her mind's eye watched as Anakin Skywalker led a battalion of Clone Troopers, clad in the blue and white armor of Coruscant's elite security troopers of the 501st; decimating the jedi with in the temple. As soon as the vision faded she snapped awake, her lightsaber flaring to life in time with a thunderous rumble from below in the central confines of the temple. It sounded as if it came from the Fountain Chambers.

The hiss of Shaak Ti's main chamber door caused her to snap around, her saber humming through the air to stop inches from Jedi Master Cin Drallig's neck, his own emerald blade snapped to life to parry of Shaak's saber but never actually having to come in contact with it as the Togruta realized who it was and halted her advancing stroke.

"Master Drallig, what's going on?" She asked in a hushed and urgent tone, for some reason sensing that to speak any louder would be folly.

"I'm not sure… The security cameras have shown clones, attacking the Jedi. I rushed here to rouse you but I see you're a step ahead of me as usual." The white haired human replied, smiling faintly. 

Shaak Ti's pale lips curled into a faint smile. "I would want no other at my side right now Cin Drallig… Come, we must rouse all we can, I saw them in a vision, there are too many for us to try and fight."

"Serra's already gone to retrieve the younglings, I told her to meet us in the eastern hangar bay." Cin Drallig replied, speaking of his padawan Serra Keto.

"Good, come then, we must find out more about what's going on…" Shaak stated, frowning faintly as she swept past him out into the hall way. 

- - -  
**Central Council Tower Corridors  
**- - - 

"It's quiet…" Tholme whispered, turning his head back and fourth looking around warily with his blaster raised. 

"Stay sharp… Something's coming." Veta graveled, lifting the chain gun into a ready position braced on his hip.

"I don't sense anything." L'lara replied.

"You wouldn't... They're not hostile, they're just doing their job, the clones don't really know what they're doing is wrong." Zasz explained to the confused young Twi'lek as she spun her lightsaber nervously in her hand. "They're simply following or-"

"JET TROOPERS!" Veta roared loudly, yanking the chain gun around and tearing apart the large bay window as a wave of blue blaster bolts from Clone Jet Trooper canons plowed in the wall.

"Get down!" Zasz shouted, but before he could yank L'lara down she was moving.

The Jet Troopers that didn't meet their fate at the onslaught of projectile fire from Veta's chain gun found themselves unprepared as the lithe young twi'lek came racing forward from the darkness, her cyan hued saber perfectly matching her sea green skin tone as she danced through the crowd of landing jet troopers dicing them to ribbons with expertly timed strokes. 

"Well… I'll say this for her, she sure can fight." Tholme said with a chuckle as L'lara deactivated her saber, standing amidst a ring of fallen clones. 

"Keep moving, more will come, we can't be caught here." Veta snapped authoritivly, charging down the hall once more with the other two ARCs and the padawan close behind.

As they ran around the corner Zasz suddenly hurled himself forward, knocking L'lara to the ground.

"JEDI! BLAST 'ER!" A Jet Trooper shouted, whirling on the young Padawan. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Veta shouted, stopping the group of Jet Troopers.

"Commander Veta!" One of the troopers exclaimed in confusion. "What're you doing with this traitor?"

Veta was silent for a moment, looking at the six silver armored jet troopers, his remorse hidden behind his helmet. "The right thing, my brother."

The roar of Veta's chain gun filled the hall once more as he tore apart the six Jet Trooper's dropping them in chunks of shattered flesh and armor. L'lara closed her eyes, grimacing at the scene playing out before her as Veta eliminated the clones, opening them as she once more heard his voice saying to keep moving. 

"This is it, General Ti's quarters should be just ahead..." he trailed off suddenly, staring at the smoking hole in the wall where a det-pack had destroyed Shaak Ti's chamber door, strewn across the hall way were the fallen bodies of a dozen clones, some of them in multiple pieces.

In unison all three ARC's charged for the door, L'lara following them more slowly, looking at the bodies, precise wounds, perfect in every way single hit killing blows, several of the trooper's were decapitated, one had been severed clear in half. Almost all of them had lost both hands. She knew this sort of work, Shaak Ti's, disarming and ending her confrontations as quick and painlessly as possible for both sides of the engagement. She was marveling at the Jedi's work when she heard two lightsabers suddenly activate.

"Master Ti don't!" She shouted suddenly, staying Shaak Ti's hand just before she plunged her saber through Zasz's back.

The Togruta had been hiding behind a large statue of one of the Order's fallen jedi, alongside a white haired human man L'lara recognized as Master Cin Drallig, one of the order's most revered instructor's in saber combat.

"We're on your side general…" Veta said, turning to face her, dropping his weapon so that it hung from his shoulder limply by the leather strap.

Shaak Ti's large black eyes swept over the three ARC Troopers. Cin Drallig was watching her out of the corner of his own eye waiting for her lead. As she deactivated her saber he deactivated his as well. Shaak Ti straightened from her combat stance, smiling faintly. 

"It's been awhile Veta…" Beneath his helmet the emerald clad ARC made no effort to hide the proud smile, pleased simply to see she'd remembered his name. "Tholme, Zasz; good to see you both again." 

The other two trooper's straightened slightly, just as pleased as their leader. "Sorry we're late ma'am, but we had to go through hostiles to get here; and picked up an acquisition we'd not counted on." Veta explained, gesturing to L'lara.

Cin Drallig looked toward the young twi'lek, who was suddenly blushing under the scrutinizing gaze of the two jedi masters. "I know you… L'lara Wu'loon correct?"

"Y-yes sir! I was in the fountain chamber sir." She explained quickly. She remembered Cin Drallig all to well, an excellent teacher, but he expected promptness, honesty, and above all courage from all his students and she still was intent on following through on all his expectations.

Shaak Ti moved past Master Drallig now, peering at L'lara with her inquisitive black eyes, and then smiling the widest smile she'd given all night. "Well hello there little one…"

L'lara's sea green skin turned dark with the hue of her blushing cheeks. "You… Remember me?" 

Shaak Ti grinned now, her eyes sparkling as she clipped her saber to her belt once more. "You'd be surprised how well little one. Are you all right?"

"Y- yes ma'am." The young padawan responded, thinking for a moment that she was going to faint; her heart pounding in her chest, for a change tonight not from fear but from excitement. "I'm okay."

"Good, we'd better get moving then, it won't be long before more come." Shaak said, beckoning to the Twi'lek.

"I think they're coming sooner than you might think…" Cin Drallig growled, his saber flaring to life and pointing towards one of the larger windows bordered by statues on either side.

Shaak Ti's eyes widened as she looked towards the window, it wasn't troopers repelling on grapple lines, it wasn't jet troopers, but one huge craft outlined on the night sky by the flames roaring in the lower section of the temple. 

"GUN SHIP!" Tholme roared, yanking his commando rifle up and quickly dismantling its blaster barrel, loading in the rocket clip.

Instantly Shaak Ti recalled weeks of Fighting on Kamino along side the ARC's to defend the cloning centers. She lifted a hand and gave her fingers a single flex, shattering the glass – as it shattered, rather than letting it fall she seized the shards through the force, sending them hurtling like shrapnel towards the gunship. Tholme dropped to one knee beside her while Zasz took a position to brace him. With a roar he fired all four of the rockets from the launcher clip, sending the compound explosives racing through the air trailing clouds of smoke spiraling towards there target.

With a flash of light and a deafening bang the first rocket hit the right wing of the gunship directly on the mount turret sphere, shattering it, the wing and the trooper who was in the sphere in a blaze of fire. The second rocket veered away and then back toward the ship, hitting it from an angle against the side of the transports hull. By the time the third rocket clipped the port-side proton torpedo launcher on the ship the pilot had begun firing upon them with the heavy chin turret. 

Shaak Ti dove to the side as massive bolts of green plasma slammed into the wall behind her shattering it to rubble. Cin Drallig snatched L'lara up out of the line of fire as Tholme and Zasz dove for cover. Shaak Ti shouted something but her words were droned out as the overwhelming rattle of Veta's chain gun now filled the air. At 166 rounds per second the Merr-Sonn Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon was one of the most powerful weapons of the CloneWars. Even now at the end of the war, it was still a rare sight on the battlefield, used only by the most elite of command units who had the strength and endurance the lug the cumbersome weapons and generally only on special assignments. The blaster-resistant cockpit didn't cave to the actual blasters from the gun, but rather the sheer amount of preside put onto it by the consistent rate of fire. The Glass buckled and shattered inward, showering the pilot at the same time as he was lit up by 77 rounds from the gun before he slumped against the controls of the gunship.

Shaak Ti's eyes went wide. " MOVE!" She yelled as the ARC's chain-gun fell quiet once more. She bolted down the hall, pushing the others as fast as she could as the pilot-less gunship now lurched forward, smashing against the tower and plowing through the broken window, wedge for only a moment before with a lurch it, and the clones being transported inside it all plummeted down to the rooftop of the main temple below, crashing in a wash of torn metal and exploding ship's innards.

- - -  
**AN:** Proceed to Part II


	2. Order 66 Part II

**- - -  
Northern Tower, Upper Levels  
- - -**

Serra Keto moved as quickly as she could, racing up flights of stairs towards the youngling chambers, each tower held youngling clan quarters for the males and females of each clan. Serra had great difficult moving undetected through the main temple region towards the towers. The temple was burning; many of the corridors were now blocked by rubble and flaming debris. Clone Troopers were everywhere now and she'd stumbled across the bodies of more then three Jedi she actually knew by name. The Jedi Code ran constant through her mind, dampening the anger and outrage at the betrayal the Order had been dealt.

_There is no Emotion,  
there is Peace.  
There is no Ignorance,  
there is Knowledge.  
There is no Passion,  
there is Serenity.  
There is no Death,  
there is the Force._

She was forced to recall that last strand over and over to hold back the grief at the sight of so many of the Order lying dead in the halls and ramparts of their own home ground. All these thoughts raged in her mind as she raced up the flights of stairs as fast as she could, she was passing the western towers training chamber heading for the next stair well when she saw him. Anakin Skywalker, now the Sith Lord known as Darth Vader, standing in the training chamber staring with cold unyielding eyes as a young jedi slid off the tip of his saber and tumbled to the floor, the stab wound in his torso still smoking from the heat of Vader's blade.

_There is no Emotion,  
there is Peace…  
_  
She had to keep going, she had to get to the younglings before Anakin did…

_There is no Passion,  
there is Serenty…_

"Serra Kato… I'd wondered when you would arrive…" Vader's cold voice, so different from the kind and boyishly humorous young Jedi Knight Serra had thought she'd known. 

Serra watched as Vader ominously strolled out of the training chamber and into the hallway, blocking her path to the stairs with his blue saber humming in his mechanical hand. "You always were courageous Serra… You're young, you're spirited… You don't have to die with the others, I can help you, the Order has grown corrupt, they want to over throw the Republic, and if we let them they'll bring a new dark age to the Republic."

Serra shook her head. "No… No… I don't believe that… YOU don't believe that… Anakin what's happened? I know you, I'm your friend, it doesn't have to be like this, just tell me what happened!"

"I saw it myself Serra… Master Windu attempted to assassinate the Chancellor right in front of me." 

"NO! Master Windu wouldn't do something like that! Never!" 

"They've blinded you Serra, with smooth words and deception… I can help you see the truth, we don't have to fight." Vader responded, lifting his free hand towards her. "Let me help you."

"Anakin these are our FRIENDS, Our Family; you're slaughtering! Look around you! You've killed them Anakin, this isn't the way we were taught!" Serra screamed, trying to hold back tears, her sabers in her hands now, clutching them desperately as if they were all that stood between her and a web of entangling lies.

"It's not the way we were taught because THEY taught us! They lied to us, tricked us, used us to get what they wanted! We don't have to be like them Serra, we are a new generation of Force users, we can be different, we can be better!" Anger flared in Vader's eyes, his outstretched hand balling into a fist as he growled menacingly. "Don't make me destroy you." 

The dual _snap-hiss_ of Serra's twin blades snapping to life broke the silence lingering after Vader's threat. "Get out of my way Skywalker… One way or another I'm going past you, whether you die in the process is up to you…"

"So be it…" Vader's eyes narrowed, dropping into a combat stance in time with Serra.

Still moving as if linked by some unseen chain they lunged at one another in tandem, Serra's two sabers clashing against Vader's own. The whir and hum of the blades filled the air, sparks and flashes lighting up the dimly lit temple corridor as they circled each other slashing and parrying one another's blows.

Serra had trained in Saber combat from the first day that Cin Drallig took her as his Padawan, she knew the ins and outs of saber combat, but most notably, she knew how to fight another Saber wielder, rather than simply knowing the defensive forms of how to fight a thug with a blaster. She was holding her own against the Sith Apprentice, teeth gritted and her long black bangs hanging down in her face, illuminated as it was by the crackle flashes of light emitted by her emerald sabers locked against Vader's pale blue blade.

**- - -  
The Central Temple, 16th floor.  
- - -**

They were making progress, the hangar bay they were to meet Serra and the younglings at was in the southern wing of the temple, it was an extremely irritating place to attempt to reach when you were in a hurry, and thus the least likely place to have any heavy resistance from the rebelling clones. Shaak Ti's Togrutian senses allowed them to avoid the halls that had too many troopers for them to engage and the jedi combined with the elite ARCs eliminated what little opposition they did encounter. They had only just passed the grand stairway leading to rolling stairs and turbo lifts that granted access to the central tower when Cin Drallig suddenly froze.

"Cin..? What's the matter?" Shaak Ti asked, suddenly sensing the urgency and alarm welling in Master Drallig's mind.

"It's Serra… She's in danger!" 

"We'll find her the-" Shaak Ti was cut off by a harsh snap from Cin in response.

"No! It is not worth all our lives, the Order must be preserved, go! I'll find her and meet you at the hangar!" He replied turning quickly to head towards the northern tower.

Shaak Ti's sloping brow furrowed in uncertainty at his words. To leave a friend, and his padawan in jeopardy was something she disagreed with in every fiber of her being, but at the same time she knew there was logic in what he said. Her forward lekku drooped limply in resignation as she bowed her head to him, letting the tips of her montrals touch his forehead in a Togrutian custom of kinship. "May the Force be with you Cin Drallig." 

"Be careful Master…" L'lara cautioned, looking mournfully at the old human.

The stoic Jedi gave a thin flicker of a smile to his two order sisters and bowed his head, then, unclipping his saber from his belt he darted down the hall with all the speed and agility the force could afford him.

**- - -  
Northern Tower, Training Chamber Corridor  
- - -**

"Commendable Serra, you always were skilled with a lightsaber." Vader commented, his face impassive, almost disinterested as if she was wasting his time. "But I have more important things to do…" 

Serra was growing distracted, clone troopers had been drawn by the sound of Saber strikes, they now stood at the door way to the corridor, blasters at the ready as they watched their General facing the young Jedi.

"It's over Serra… Join me, or die."

"NEVER!" She snapped lashing out suddenly, one blade swung high left to right towards his skull, the other low right to left to slice him through the middle. It was a movement of anger, of torment, the pain of every slain Jedi welled up inside her as she lunged for the Sith Apprentice.

The satisfaction of destroying this horrible monster would never be known to Serra, Darth Vader's movements were methodical, as if he'd known she'd do this all along. His saber rose, reflecting the decapitating high arcing strike, while his free hand rose and gave a little flex of its fingers, sending Serra flying through the air to slam against the far wall. Her sabers slipped from her fingers as the air was knocked out of her lungs, never getting a chance to draw in more as she felt a tight invisible hand clamp around her throat. Vader stood before her, his saber pointed leisurely towards the ground, his free hand raised as if to clench something in his fist, slowly choking the last remnants of air out of her chest.

"Where is Master Drallig, Serra? Tell me and I will make this quick." 

She gasped and rasped, clutching at the unseen clamp around her throat, desperately struggling to get air. "I'll... Never…" She coughed, struggling to speak. "Tell you... anything… you monsters…"

With a snarl of irritation and annoyance at the delay Vader began to clamp his hand fully closed. 

"JEDI! BLAST 'IM!" a clones voice shouted.

The hum of a saber filled the air accompanied by blaster fire and the thud of falling bodies. Racing down the corridor, slicing and hacking through wave after wave of troopers Cin Drallig charged to his padawans aid. 

Vader nimbly dodged out of the way as Drallig lunged forward with a penetrating thrust which singed through the edge of Vader's cloak. Vader lashed at Jedi's back with his saber as Serra collapsed to the floor released from his vice like force grip; Cin Drallig's arms lifted him, snapping his saber into the way over his head, deflecting Vader's strike and then swinging his blade back up, and forcing Vader's arm to swing up along with his own at an odd angle.

With a cry of pain and rage Anakin released his saber hilt, his nerves spasming uncontrollably on the odd angle his arm was forced into. He spun around to avoid a decapitating counter-strike from Drallig and threw out his uninjured arm sending Drallig and Serra both tumbling across the floor with a force push before summoning his own saber back to his hand and charging at them with a bellow of rage.

Calling one of her sabers she spotted lying in a corner back to her Serra engaged Vader along side her master, the two jedi dodging and weaving around the Sith Lords aggressive style of attack but finding themselves unable to over power him despite their advantage of numbers. Again and again the whirling blades slashed and clashed in the dimly lit hallway, the sparks flying upon their collision filling the hall with flashes of light that illuminated their faces again the harsh glow of the green and blue blades.

Suddenly from the darkness of the hall behind Anakin came a hoarse cry. A battered looking young Jedi came flipping into the fray with his blue lightsaber blazing, a heroic fellow guardian of the Republic intent to aid his brother and sister Jedi in defeating the Sith menace but his shout caught all except the Sith himself by surprise. Serra's concentration broke as the other Jedi came flying through the air and in one smooth motion Darth Vader cut the emerald blade and the hand clutching it off at the wrist, her blue blade slipped from her gasp as he slid his blade straight through her middle, spinning it in his hand and suddenly thrusting it backwards, impaling the latest addition to the fray, spearing the knight through the chest and bringing his leg up to kick Cin Drallig back as the old warrior bellowed in anger, stumbling back and then lunging back at Vader in a furious display of Jedi capability, slashing and hacking, driving the sith lord back before ending in a swift swiping arc and a thrust that would have speared all but the best duelists without fail. Not the Chosen One however, he weaved around the attack, snapped his leg up, and crushed his heel into Drallig's rib cage in a swift kick, knocking him off his feet. 

Master Cin Drallig's emerald green saber sputtered as it shutdown, the elegant silver handle slipping from his fingers as he slumped to the floor with a charred hole marring his robes in the very center of his chest. He struggled for breath, staring up at Vader in a mixture of acceptance and amusement. "To think… That one so respected would turn so easily… Your time will come... Skywalker… The Order... will not … fall…" The aged master's head fell back against the marble floor and he breathed no more.   
Cin Drallig, Master Duelist of the Jedi Order, was dead.

**- - -  
The Central Temple, 8th floor.  
- - -**

Master Ti stopped dead in her tracks, giving a sudden gasp and clutching at her chest. 

"General?" Veta asked with concern, looking to the Togrutian jedi.

Shaak Ti's large dark eyes watered, her lekku drooping in defeat as she bowed her head.

"Master…?" L'lara inquired worriedly.

"He's gone…" Shaak said, her voice bearing a soft quaver. "Master Drallig… He's failed…"

Tholme and Zasz turned there helmeted heads to look toward one another and Veta gently put his free hand on Shaak Ti's shoulder. "I'm sorry, General."

Shaak Ti lifted her head slowly, her jaw tightening. She swallowed the grief within her body, lifting one of her crimson hands to her waist sash, slipping her saber from its place hanging from a small golden ring upon the sash. "We can waist no more time attempting to avoid confrontation… We will not escape if we cannot move faster…" 

"General, there are too many of them out there, we can't defeat them all!" Tholme said in an almost shocked tone.

"I have no intention of fighting a war Tholme… But I have every intention of seeing the next sunrise, along with the three of you, and L'lara. Stay behind me, if it gets past me, shoot it until it drops. Do you understand your orders?" Shaak Ti asked calmly, looking to the three ARC Troopers with an unearthly calm she so often seemed to maintain.

All three soldiers straightened, bringing there weapons to the ready.

"Orders received and understood, General." Veta responded for the three clones.

Shaak looked to L'lara now. "You are to stay behind me young one, do not fight these soldiers unless you absolutely must, remain close to me at all times, do you understand?"

"Yes master…" L'lara said, unable to hide a faint quiver of fear within her voice.

Shaak Ti smiled that same soft smile she had so many years ago on the first day she met the young twi'lek. "Then let use leave this place… our desecrated home…"

Shaak Ti's lightsaber hissed to life and she darted forward, turning at the first right corridor making for the main hall, the shortest route to the 7th floor where the southern hangar bay was located. 

Cries echoed from the corridor as Shaak entered, shouts and orders from clone officers, all cut down to anguished cries and pleas. Every strike was perfect, one slice to every foe and none rose after a single blow. Shaak Ti's movements were as graceful as a dancers, repelling blaster bolts, slicing through weapons, and limbs when necessary, clearing the path through every corridor they entered, she never paused, never seemed short of breath.

They were nearing the hangar with the final corridor cleared and no reinforcement's insight when she suddenly came to a dead halt. 

"No!" She exclaimed suddenly, seeming shock and defeated all in the same cry.

"General?" Zasz asked in confusion. 

"An Ambush… Dozens of them waiting in the Hangar... Too many to face…" Shaak Ti said, deactivating her saber and looking around for an escape route now.

"What do we do?" L'lara asked, still staying close on Shaak Ti's heels.

"We can walk in."

Shaak and the others turned to stair at Veta. 

"Er… Boss, you hit yer head or somethin'?" Tholme asked, canting his own head as he looked at Veta.

"Very funny… Really, we can just walk in. We put stun cuffs on the General and the girl, I'll clip their sabers to my belt so they're disarmed, we walk in and right past those soldiers with our prisoners." Veta responded.

L'lara looked uncertainly up at Shaak, as did the other two clones. Master Ti could feel the hesitance broiling up in Zasz and Tholme, but a smile was now creeping across her face. "Unlike the three of you, the other Clones, while sentient, are still little more than organic droids with more thinking capability… They won't even begin to suspect other clones might deceive them. It should work…"

- - -   
**Southern Hangar, 7th Floor**  
- - -

As the hangar doors hissed open several clones turned with guns raised. 

"Halt!" A clone bearing an officer's shoulder pauldron shouted moving forward from his squad. "Commander Veta, what's going on here?"

"Direct Orders from Palpatine, he wants these Jedi brought to him for questioning." Veta replied. 

"We weren't informed of any such transfer…" the clone officer said with a faint suspicion in his tone.

"Major, what you aren't informed of could fill a cruiser. Do you honestly think the Chancellor is going to waste his time informing every single squad of his orders when this entire sector of the city is in Chaos, he has more important things to do than putting your mind at ease." Veta snapped harshly. 

The clone major shifted embarrassedly at the berating and nodded in agreement swiftly. "Of course, of course, commander. My apologies, please carry on." 

"All right scum, get moving!" Tholme snapped, pushing Shaak forward as they headed for one of the LAAT drop ship at the edge of the hangar; the broken shards of demolished jedi star fighters littered the hangar all around it, a testament to the clones intentions to make sure no 'traitor' escaped the temple alive. 

The three ARC Troopers walked the two jedi to the ship and strapped them in.

"Do you require a pilot sir?" the clone Major inquired, approaching the ship.

"I wouldn't trust one of your pilots half as much as my own Major, you do your job, we do ours." The ARC Commander graveled back, adding an annoyed tone to send a hint to the major to back off.

"Yes sir, understood sir." The Major replied, stepping back once more as Zasz headed up the ramp to the front cockpit seat of the gunship.

The engines roared to life and the ship rose up from the hangar floor and then out through the air, flashing golden and purple in the mix of colors caused by the sun just beginning to rise and the roaring flames of the burning temple reflecting of the gun ship's exterior.

Tears welled in L'lara's eyes as she looked out at the temple through the open side door of the gunship, she glanced up at the hand on her shoulder, managing the faintest hint of a smile as Shaak Ti looked down at her reassuringly.

"What now Commander?" Zasz called from the pilot seat.

Veta looked to the General for instructions and Shaak Ti closed her eyes, lifting a hand to rub at her temples as she tried to think of what to do next.

"L'lara and I cannot stay here, or anywhere in the core, it isn't safe… We will have to go far from here, somewhere we can get away from this new order Palpatine is creating…" Shaak muttered softly, her front lekku twitching in thought.

"As long as you'll have us general, we're with you." Tholme added while Veta nodded his head in agreement.

Shaak smiled faintly at that. "I wouldn't have it any other way Tholme… We owe our lives to you." She finally nodded, taking a breath before speaking again. "We can't stay in this transport, it's got too many ties to the military, there's any number of ways they could trace us… We're going to need find someone who will get us safe passage… A civilian ship, maybe an old freighter… Something that can get us off world without trouble…"

Veta tugged off his helmet and smirked faintly. "Commandeer a civilian transport… I think we can manage that." 

**- - -  
Coruscant Atmosphere  
- - -**

"Roger that Remembrance, transmitting our cargo manifest and authorization clearance codes now…" the pilot of the Golden Wind announced over the comm line established with the VSD Remembrance, one of several Republic cruisers on constant patrol around Coruscant. 

The Golden Wind was a Corellian Transport, these ships were used all across the galaxy, by the government and civilians a like, Corellian transport ships were fast, dependable, and most notable of all, completely below radar when it came to suspicion. They were outdated by the new Corellian Corvettes now, and luckily for the fleeing Jedi there were plenty of people who didn't by the information suddenly running rampant about a Jedi rebellion. One of them was Captain Madison and his three crewman, they'd actually come to Shaak before she went to them, and might well have shot the clones dead had it not been for her intervention. 

When she explained the situation Madison had immediately agreed to provide them a way off world free of charge. Under any other situation Shaak would have been rather displeased at the number of illegal commodities in Captain Madison's cargo hold, but in this case it really didn't matter anymore. The Government she served was no more, the truth weighed heavy on her as she, L'lara and the ARCs sat in the cargo hold pondering what they would do now. They were bound for a world called Gaianis, Madison had never even heard of it, which pleased Shaak immensely. She herself had come across it completely by accident during one of her missions when her ship crash landed on the world. It was a very beautiful place and was so far in the outer rim that it wasn't even on Republic star charts, it was inhabited by near human people, their technology was on par with the republics, but unlike most races they had no interest in space travel and had little in the form of ships beyond what was need for the defense of their own planet. At the request of the people of Gaianis she had made no mention of them when her ship was repaired and she returned to Coruscant and she hoped now that in return for her kindness then they would harbor she and her friends from the galaxy that had turned against them.

"Stand by everybody. I think we're gonna make it." Madison announced over the ships internal comm.

All five of the stowaways in the cargo bay subconsciously held their breath, the only sound heard now was the distant rumble of the engines. A minute passed, two, five, ten.

"That's it! We're through, setting hyperspace coordinates now!" Madison called triumphantly over the speakers.

Zasz let out a sigh of relief he didn't even realize he was holding. L'lara gave a soft "yes!" of excitement at having made it through while Shaak Ti gave a faint smile. They had done it. They were past the defense fleet and leaving Coruscant behind, along with everything they'd ever had to call home…

- - -  
**Epilogue**

**- - -  
**  
In the months after Order 66 Shaak Ti managed to make with a few of the Order, all, like her had forsaken Coruscant and slid away into hiding knowing that if they were to reveal themselves they would be struck down. Even on Gaianis they were able to learn of the rise of the new Empire. It quickly became apparent just what had happened. The Jedi grew cold and sterile as the Republic defenders, while time moved on the Order stayed the same, never adapting or changing to fit with the times and Palpatine, who they now knew to be in truth the master of the Sith, Darth Sidious, used this frailty in the order to bring about their demise. The Jedi Order took the fall in order for the Republic to crumble replaced by a cold and merciless Empire reigned over by one of the wickedest beings to ever be brought into the galaxy.

Veta, Tholme, and Zasz found themselves incredibly comfortable on Gaianis. The people of this world were strong and hearty, and Veta even suspected that perhaps some of them may have been influenced by the Mandalorian culture; their similarities were remarkable, family and honor held presidence over all other matters and the three ARC's loyalty and devotion to Shaak Ti earned much respect for them in the eyes of the planet's local population. None of them had ever expected to experience anything more than the life of soldiers, and perhaps after the war guns for hire; but they soon found themselves adapting and even settling down upon this lush fertile planet. 

L'lara was proving to be an incredibly skilled young padawan, and both Togruta and Twi'leks had a life span nearly a hundred years longer than humans and even longer when trained in the use of the force. But there was even greater knowledge for Shaak Ti to learn, after only a few days on Gaianis they had settled in a modest house at the edge of one of the larger villages on the peaceful world. There house looked out over the rolling green highlands, speckled with trees and graced by a long winding stream which sparkled each morning like a trail of diamonds when the sun hit it. 

Shaak Ti marveled at the beauty of the world which she recalled being just as awe struck by the first time she came to it so many years ago. It was this beauty that surrounded her as she meditated one morning, the lush green hills and valleys blanketed in the fog that always lingered as the sun began to rise, giving the world an almost ghostly appearance. As Shaak Ti meditated, seated upon the porch of she and L'lara's home with her eyes closed and her senses open she found herself feeling a presence, as if someone were approaching out of that fog. 

_It has been a long time Shaak Ti…_

Shaak Ti's lekku twitched subconsciously in recognition of the voice. 

"Qui-Gon…"

_It's good to see you again my friend… Listen carefully, I've had a difficult time reaching you, and I will be a very irritated being of light if I have to attempt to contact you again through such troublesome means. _The long deceased jedi quipped in his usual bemused fashion.

"How… I don't understand…" She spoke out loud once more even though she could now tell his voice was located only in her mind as she meditated.

_One of the most cunning Jedi in the order and you do not understand? I think you do, it's just a matter of coming to terms with it… Existence beyond our bodies… Master Yoda was the first I contacted, and then Obi-wan._

A sudden gasp escaped the Togruta. "Kenobi is alive?"

_He, Master Yoda, and a few others aside from the ones you've already managed to contact. I've come to teach you Shaak, to show you how to become one with the Force and can teach you're new Padawan the same._

"But what good is it…? We're scattered, decimated… The Republic has fallen… We've failed…" She bowed her head, feeling grief swell within her in spite of her training.

_You have only failed if you accept defeat. There is always hope Shaak… Anakin has a son, and a daughter._

Once more a gasp of surprise escaped her. "Then!"

_Yes, there is still hope, there will always be hope. Obi-Wan watches over the boy in safety on Tatooine, the same place where his father was, before the dark side took him. Anakin's daughter has been adopted by Bail Antilles. I cannot think of better guardians than these two._

For the first time in weeks joy swelled within the red skinned beauties heart, all three of her head tails quivered in excitement and she could sense a smile from the aura of Qui-Gon's spiritual essence. 

_The prophecy will yet be fulfilled Shaak Ti, but for now, I have much to teach you, and you will have much to teach your Padawan… You still have a great deal of work ahead of you my friend…_

**The End . . . **

- - - - -

**Author's Notes: ** Well there we go, after months of delays I finally finished this! I hope everyone enjoyed it; and lest you all worry, no, Shaak Journals are not over, I will be starting up on Entry 10 ASAP back from where we were. 

I do apologize for how long it took to finish this, but my school work just swamps me these days so I don't get much time to write anything besides term papers and reports. Hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!


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